By R.J. Bardsley
Wow. In case you’re wondering about your capacity as an individual to monitor and manage your own cell phone and data plans, don’t worry – the government has taken care of that for you. The FCC and the major US carriers have come to an agreement and the carriers will now alert users when they are getting close to the limit for their text, data or voice services.
In the NY Times (front page) article about this today, reporter Edward Wyatt noted that the carriers were reluctant to agree to this but finally capitulated because they have been “losing good will with people bitter about the sometimes exorbitant charges resulting from overuse…”
There are just so many things to say about this piece of news –
- First – to the carriers, you should have been doing this all along as a nice little “we’ve got your back” component of customer service; it would have even helped with your brand image. Now that you have to do it, embrace it. In the end it will go a long way towards improving your relationship with your customers.
- Second – to the government, thanks, but it’s a shame it came down to this. I mean – you’re running out of money left and right, fighting who knows how many wars, dealing with jobs creation, trying to deal with Chinese and European monetary policy and this is what you’ve been spending your time on? Cell phone overages? Can I have some of my taxes back?
- Third – to consumers. Did we really need this? I mean we signed up for our contracts, shouldn’t we be able to manage them? You balance your checking account, right? Can’t you press the short sequence of buttons on your mobile phone to access your account? I get it – sometimes we get carried away and forget. Sometimes we sign up for limited plans and we don’t exactly know how much data 2G really is. But if you’re going to take the responsibility to enter into a contract, at least take the time to hold up your end of the bargain.
Click here for more details on the news, and let me know what your opinion is. Are the new “Alert” rules silly or are they a good idea?
A little bit about me: At the end of the day all you’ve got is your perspective… and this is my perspective on all things mobile. It’s not always pretty and it’s not always right… but I try to keep it funny and entertaining.
